After a week of endless marathon matches and uneven play, the dust has literally settled in Rome leaving familiar rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to duel for the final clay Masters event of the season.

Nadal, who had played erratic tennis all week put together a very tight Rafa-like performance today crushing the young upstart Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2. Following a string of 3-setters, it was just what Nadal and his shaken confidence needed.

“I think I started the match in a perfect way, in the second set he made more mistakes than usual,” said Nadal who had lost at least a set in his four prior meetings with the Bulgarian. “But, talking about myself, I played a solid match and was very good with my backhand. Yesterday I played a great match and today was a good confirmation that I play better, that the forehand starts to fly again, the top spins as well. A lot of positive things.”

Djokovic’s road was far, far tougher. The Serb clashed with the big serving Milos Raonic in a three hour 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-3 thriller. It was a nip-and-tuck affair as the Canadian flashed not just his lethal serve/forehand combo but a newfound backhand and better mobility. The improvements paid off. Raonic hung tough until late in the third when Djokovic finally swept him away.

“It was a big win,” said Djokovic. “Because it gives me a lot of strength and belief that I hope I can carry into tomorrow’s final and the rest of the season.

“He played at a high level, especially on his serve, and I cannot recall the last time when I felt so helpless in the return games. I couldn’t really read his serve.

“He did surprise me with his movement,” said Djokovic. “He is moving really well and has improved his backhand down the line, especially. He comes to the net and has improved his variety.”

At the end of the day Raonic and Dimitrov have no reason to hand their heads. For the two 23-year-olds it was a very promising week. Despite the bad outing today, the future is bright for Dimitrov who’ll likely crack the Top 10 in the coming months. Raonic showed some added savvy today and with his power and frame, he’s going to be at the top of the game for the next 4-5 years if not longer. These two will have their time, it’s just not now.

Their losses also pave the way for chapter 41 of the best rivalry in tennis: Nadal vs. Djokovic.

Rafa (still) leads this one 22-18 and 13-3 on clay. But Djokovic has won three straight and they’ve split their last two on dirt. Entering, I’d give a slight edge on level of play to Novak. He’s had the better season and he’s been playing better of late. Nadal, meanwhile, has really struggled. Of course except for today.

The problem for Rafa is even when he’s playing near his best, Djokovic still gives him fits. So mentally, Rafa’s going to be worried going in because he knows this is a different battle. He’s the favorite, he’s the King of Clay and the pressure is on him not to cede his surface this close to the French. But he’s got issues.

“Djokovic always plays unbelievable, he’s a complete player and has all the shots,” said Nadal. “If I want to have chances to win I have to play my best tennis, be aggressive. It will be a very tough match. That’s the only way. I have to be ready for the competition.”

Djokovic, though, hasn’t been at his best either. We’re still seeing those ill-timed lapses in concentration – what happened in the first set breaker when he was up 3-0? – and he just doesn’t look right at times.

For me, all things being equal on the clay (both guys playing a decent game from the baseline and they are fit – Novak is coming off a 3-hour match today) the match hinges on Rafa’s second serve. If he’s having a hard time with his second then Djokovic, a master returned, is going to be dictating, and that’s bad news for the Spaniard. However, if Nadal serves well he’ll be the one in the forecourt and being the aggressor. He can apply the pressure and get Djokovic thinking.

For Djokovic, he’ll have to attack that second and be willing to hit the backhand down the line. I guess it would be asking to much for him to cut out the nickle-and-dime errors, but like Nadal, who’s also battling his own bloopers, I think we’ll see likely see some good tennis mixed with some bad.

So that said, this is a tough one to pick. With the big prize still three weeks away, neither player is firing on all cylinders right now. But this is Rafa’s domain and he’ll do everything in his power to protect what’s his. He’s the King of Clay afterall.The pick: Nadal in three

In the opening act, the women’s final pits heavy favorite Serena Williams against local hero Sara Errani. I can only imagine what Serena will do to the Italian’s puffy second serves.

Raonic was going nowhere with Galo Blanco. The best decision he made was to sack him and take Ljubicic who persuaded his former coach, Riccardo Piatti, to dump Gasquet during WTF and join Roanic’s team. It’s paying off big time – maybe the best coaching team on tour at the moment.
By the way, Riccardo Piatti used to coach young Djokovic.

With the way Rafas played this week,i would say Novak in 3,the opponents hes faced this week were unable to sustain that level of play for 3 sets after he started slowly,so he had the luxury of been able to raise his game when not playing his best,he wont get that against Novak he will have to be dialled in from the word go….

Not really feeling confident about Rafas chances here or at RG this year,still ill continue to watch him as fans always do with the favorites,and as long as he does his best is all one can really ask….

It is difficult to pick a winner in this match and it will all boil down to the form of the player on this particular day. It will all depend on the way Rafa serves and the quality of Novak’s return. Right now, the two players are not playing at their best and that would make the contest even more gruelling. Still considering that Rafa is coming on the back of a win at Madrid and doubts about Novak’s full recovery from his wrist ailment, the edge should lie with Rafa. It is 52:48 in my opinion. Novak can definitely win against Rafa on any court.

I agree with Hippy Chic. His wins were not convincing enough to make me feel confident about his chances winning tonight and at RG. Against Dimitrov, his win came largely due to the absence of Grigor’s game last night. Many points were gifted by unforced errots and when Rafa made winners it was because he was given many opportunities. We often talk about a player’s form but we forget that this is sometimes aided by the opponents play on that day too and of late, Rafa has only been able to hang in there long enough for a win because the other player just cannot sustain the level of play till the end of the 3rd set. Nole won’t give him the chance to come back. If Rafa doesn’t win the first set, this is likely to be over in 2 to Nole. Nonetheless, by reaching the final at least he has made this clay season suck less for him. I am more worried about his RG campaign and hope to be proven wrong.

I expected Rafa to routine Grigor if he played like he did in last 2 sets against Murray. I know Dimitrov is said to be highly talented, but I don’t think he’s good enough to take on Nadal playing at a high level on clay. Grigor seemed very nervous throughout the match.

As for the final today, it promises to be another great match between the world’s top 2 players. Big servers usually trouble Novak but he usually finds a way to beat them. Novak’s in good form and Rafa is playing like Rafa Nadal again. Expect a hard fought match.

The only one handed backhand that can stay toe to toe with rafa forehand topspin is wawrinka.. Too bad he cannot sustain his good form week in week out

I don’t agree, neither Wawrinka’s record against Rafa stands for this claim. Except in AO 14, there was not a single time where Wawa could stand toe to toe with Nadal. For me AO is just an exception than a rule for his future matches against Nadal.

Today’s match is going go be between two players not playing at their best throughout the tournament. I would go with Rafa, maybe he is more confident now after beating Murray. It was a good practice for him to play against Novak.

Hippy Chic Says:
With the way Rafas played this week,i would say Novak in 3,the opponents hes faced this week were unable to sustain that level of play for 3 sets after he started slowly,so he had the luxury of been able to raise his game when not playing his best,he wont get that against Novak he will have to be dialled in from the word go….

May 18th, 2014 at 1:46 am

You cannot be serious, you cannot be serious man. Nole barely got passed Ferrer and Raonic also went to 2 sets with Khols.

When the Bryan Brothers win Monte Carlo it was their 98th title as a team. Interviewed afterwards, Bob Bryan said 100 team titles was one of their goals and they were hoping to do it BEFORE THE FRENCH OPEN!

Now I’ve seen examples of arrogance, but considering they played 2 tournaments between MC and Roland Garros, methinks the freak twins were counting eggs prior to the hatching.

If your not a doubles follower The reunited Nestor / Zimonjic tandem, who are one of the few teams with a winning record against the Bryan’s, beat them in the finals of Madrid and have just also won Rome, after beating the Bryan’s in the semis.

Nestor is on track to be the first tennis player to log 1,000 wins in doubles. He is now at 938 wins, 48 ahead of Mike Bryan. The 41 year old Canadian still has it.

Djoko holds 5-4 Nadal. Last two times Nadal served Djoko went 0-40 broking 1 time. Let’s see if he can start another good etunr game or if Nadal will be more agressive. Last game ge saved 2 BP’s the other 3 points Djoko hit long.

That game to me was decider, Djoko didn’t took his chances to at leats level match and place some doubts in Nadal. He is feeling confient now even hititng his signature shit FH DTL on the run outside the court. Djoko has to cut some errors and win more second serves on Nadal serve. Nadal won I think 75% of second serves. You can’t beat him not winning second serves returns points. Let’s see if he can push a third

Even drop shot working for Djoko now. He is the zone where everything clicks his way. Nadal needs to hold his serve and stop the bleeding beacuse Novak won two service games for love and is 12-2 in pts this set.

Damm Djoko was in total control of the set, 40-0 than Nadal hits an excelent return and now a string of errors by Djoko to gift the break back. Nadal was just putting the ball back in play the last 3 points. Hope he can regroup.

hahahha djoker why ???? he has nadal on the ropes and has gamepoint .. nadal forcing himself back into the match??? what match the commentators are watching???? djoker losing badly balance all of the sudden ,

Nole is totally dominating now. When Rafa won the first set, he didn’t win decisively because it was mostly on Nole’s poor play. Once Nole gets warmed up, with the form Rafa is currently in, he cannot beat him.

Djoko regroup pretty quick. Seems it will go for a third.
Best for Djoko is to broke for the set and start serving the third. For Nadal hold and pressure one more time for a come back which he is totally cabable of.

With the form Rafa is in, he can only come back against “lesser” players. Nole is in a class of his own and won’t let Rafa back in, unless he gets totally distracted by something and loses concentration. Rafa needs a miracle now.

Youyong its funny that when Rafa beats Novak,be it in a game,set or a match,people on this forum say its because Rafa was lucky or Novak was unlucky or not at his best,but definetly not because Rafa was the better player ,when its the other way round its because Novak played outstanding,such is life i suppose….

Assuming both of them make the RG finals, I believe we will see something not done before. Rafa beaten in the finals at the French Open. With the exception of the few months last year when Rafa was doing well, Nole has owned him for the better part of the last 3 years and will likely continue to do so barring injury.

rafa getting the credit he deserves.,..he is the most feared player ever !!! he never gives up and is beaten when u shake hands at the net . huge respect for that. liking rafa is tottally different thing . but respecting him is easy

Not what i said Van Orton?its when people repeatedly call him lucky,lucky in this match,lucky in that match,is not actually giving him credit is it?and anyway its not like he has the monopoly on luck,as they all have an element of that at times,no complaints about this match better player is winning/will most likely win?

the same procedure as always. typical nadal we see today , just not goin away, he had the chance nole being 2 breaks up misses by an inch nadal practically was beaten and now it is 3:3 in the third ,,, tragic,.

please no roger federer in noles half at rg . he could spoil the party vs nole . so i want him in rafas half. we all know what is going to happen there but nole would be in the final and he can actually beat rafa there . he was so close last year and he has the momentum , he has not the momentum vs federer

YEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Commiseration’s to Nadal fans ( specialy absent friend Brando and all girls-Hippy, Okiegal, metan ). Obviously this win gives some hopes for RG;Still best of 3 is differnet beast to best of 5, but still…4 defeats in a row will work mentally in Novaks favour.Anyway, it’s time to open that whisky in the cupboard.

Since2011 Djoko was able to win 4 clays finals where Nadal won 3 with the most important one in RG2012.
Djoko really is the one against Nadal on clay. Only place left for him to veat him is RG. Hoping this year he achieve it as he deserves it to be the only player who can go with Nadal. Similar to Nadal versus Federer on Wimbledon

Credit to Nadal to hang in there and level in both sets.
Still the man to beat in RG. Djoko if want to be RG champipn will have to take the trophy from him when it matters the most. Unless someone takes Nadal out early. Maybe Murray can work that QF magic for long or Wawa in the semis. Curiosu to see the draw. O to RG and history to be made once again

@ youyong: Well I follow Novak since 2008 so there was lots of ups and downs since then.I know is different since 2011 but even then, 2013 was a let down.Fed and Nadal fans have been spoiled with all trophies, we Novak fans have to keep things more humble ( it is 6 GS versus 13 or 17 ).

Youyong agree i actually for some reason dont even feel that dissapointed,i have this feeling of resignation this year,hes 28 in a couple of weeks so its inevitable,Novak will probably go in as a slight favorite,and probably wont get a better chance as he will also turn 28 next year,he needs to make hay while the sunshines….

Hey, thanks…..appreciate that so much. Congratulations to you, I know you are a happy camper. When these 2 hit the court, we are usually in for a treat. Wow, Nole is speaking the Italian fluently. I guess Rafa is too?? Or Spanish?? I just speak Americanese!! Lol

@courbon, unless one of the upcoming players come in to “spoil the show”, I think we should be seeing Nole dominating the rest of the year and perhaps for the next year too. No doubt he will continue to add GS titles to his resume. As for Rafa, I believe we are starting to see him decline as we have seen Roger. He will continue to do well and will add more titles of course, but to be realistic he will no longer dominate like he used to given the physicality of his style of play.

Rafa addressed his mental strength during matches in an interview this week. He admits that keeping mentally tough is a problem for him. I think the age he is now has a lot to do with that. Confidence level not nearly what it once was. I think Rafa plays better when he isn’t ranked #1……just my 2¢ worth.

Congrats to all Novak fans especially Courbon,Mat4,Contador and of course abscent friends Jane,Wogboy,Duro,Bada Bing etc,better player won simple as that no complaints,lets see now if he can win the biggie RG?….

@Hippy Chic, I was disappointed too that he couldn’t hold to let Nole serve it out, but Nole was just too good.

Positives from this tourney is that Nadal was able to hang in there despite being down so many times. He has shown vulnerability on his favourite surface and I hope he can find some magic again at RG. My gut feel is this is Nole’s year to win the FO and this is a title he deserves to get.

If Nole runs into other clay specialists, they might upset him at the French. An old Fed will do it. But if he plays Rafa he’ll wins. I don’t know how Rafa could allows him into his head again. Even Warinka beat him in at his best Slam. He is not fearful!

`@courbon unless one of the upcoming players come in to “spoil the show”, I think we should be seeing Nole dominating the rest of the year and perhaps for the next year too…`

No, just because Rafa can’t seem to get a handle on Novak doesn’t mean noone else can.
I’m thinking of a certain resurgent Scotsman in particular, although an old swiss player could still have a moment or 2 yet.
Among others.

Congrats to djoker fans. Very well played match. For rafa and fans, we’ll get him next time, and if not then the time after that. Nadal reversed the seven in a row before, I believe he can do it again. Nice match today.

Youyong i dont know about him dominating the whole year,i think thats a bold statement,especially as Murray seems to be getting back to his best,and is a better GC player IMO than Novak,he is also vulnerable on HCs against player like Wawarinka?smaller tournies possibly but not the GS i would be surprised anyway if he did?however we will see?

@ calmdownplease: Agree with you.I think there is still Novak, Andy and Rafa show closely followed buy Wawrinka and Fed and then all young ones coming very close, each month little by little…
Off course, I would like youyong too be right! (-:

Yes I guess we will see. Admittedly, I am a little over optimistic about Novak but it’s hard to argue that Rafa is not likely to do well the next few months at least. His confidence level is clearly shaken. Hope he can find his way back to top form. :)

There is something exceptional about Rafa: although he has lost the last two sets with 23 points of difference (in other word, it could be qualified as an utter beatdown), I felt that he had his chances until the very last point. His competitive focus is second to none in the history of tennis.

I am also utterly shocked by the was Novak played since the middle of the first set, especially at the beginning of the second: it is probably his best match on clay ever. He made 46 winners! Unbelievable. I don’t know if he can play that good ever again, but I do hope so.

Going into this match, Rafa was 5 in 22 against Novak, when he wins less than 50% of points on his second serve. That is something he needs to work on going forward. Adding a bit of variety on his first serve won’t hurt as well. Serving consistently to the backhand will be a weapon against Wawrinka, Fed, Dimitrov but seeing as it didnt work that well against Nishikori, I am sure it wont work as against Novak.

I was wrong about Djoker: felt he was still struggling, but do not think he can play much better than second and third set. This reault is huge for coming RG. Rafa cannot be very confident only winning one clay title, and let us be honest, he got very lucky winning that one. As usual a lot will depend on conditions.

Rafas problem is that his mindset is basically defensive, like most extremely good clay courters. Put the ball in play enough times to earn an error or an easy midcourt ball. That does not work with Djokovic, who is able to take the game away from him. In the third set Rafa tried to be more agressive, that resulted in a rebreak, but also more mistakes.

You are so right……no one can ever take the King of Clay title away from him. I will gladly trade out this title for a slam any day. But, I think we will see an iffy Rafa from here on out. Novak has said tennis will come second when the baby arrives…….we will see.

Djoko is domintai g the tour since US Open last year. The only importanto tourney he lost was AO in the fifth to a iluminated Wawa. MC (whihc is not madatory) he lost injured in the semis to none other than Fed and did nor play Madrid. He won Shangai, Paris, WTF, IW, MIami and now Rome. The orblem is, he lost AO, which was the most importanto of all during this period. But if he won 3 out of the 4 Masters he played this years and the ones he likes the most (fast Hard courts) are yet to come he can win 2 or 3 of the next 4 hands down. He has won 5 of the last 6 masters he played plus WTF. Getting back to number is a matter of time.
But indeed the dinaymics of big 4 is intersting. Fed and Murray gives more trouble to Novak than Nadal. Nadal can handle Fed but seems Murray is catching up and will give more trouble to nadal on hards.
The ting is, if Noval treaches RG final he return to #1 regardless of Nadal. If Nadal faltes better for him. But who will do it other than him?!

As usually the case, @Daniel. I agree with you. Missed the match but will catch it later on Youtube!

Well, it very well could be that team Nadal has a trick or two up their sleeve for winning yet another French Open; ho hum, would not surprise me. Nadal is still the favorite to win RG and will be until someone else wins it straight up against him in the final…

Courbon nah unfortunatly it was a 0/0 draw they had to win the match 2/0 to get to the play off final against Burton Albion,not to be unfortunatly,they finished with 12 points less than Fleetwood Town such is the permatations of the play offs so i suppose justice was done,for the team thats described as the Manchester City of the 3rd division :-))….

Don’t be sad, Rafa is the star that has shone brightest and played the hardest too.
It was bound to happen a little sooner than say a Fed style player.
It might be a quick deterioration, but it is unwise to write him off at this stage.
Its funny I remember when Novak lost AO, it was all
Oh he has only won AO for x years and now he can’t even win that, he’s a turkey!
Having said that these last few weeks have been a shocker compared to his usual incredible level.
We’ll surely have a better idea in just a few short weeks.

@ Hippy: Off course they don’t!But certain people love conspiracy theories…I blame internet for that.Too many fantasist…some wise man said once: When you stop believing in something, then you start believing in anything…

One other thing I have to say and that is about Novak’s ROS.
It has moved beyond anyone else’s playing Today.
Only Andy can come close.
It was simply sublime & really did a number on Rafa’s general sense of `colm`in this match.

Look , the nets beat the heat in every regular season game. Then got their buys kicked in the playoffs. Just sayin…..If I had to bet money today I still go with rafa. Maybe when/if he loses it will be different. It certainly would be the year to happen. But I refuse to believe yet.

Courbon that sums me up sometimes on this forum,usually after a Rafa defeat i turn into a raving lunatic,but now im willing to take whatever comes,the only thing i do get p*ssed off with is people belittling his achievements….

CDP lol im growing,far more important things in the world to get upset about other than sport,especially after reading the post from Vox on the other thread really sad,i work with a girl whom has family in the Phillipines thankfully not it that effected area but still equally sad though never the less :((….

`i work with a girl whom has family in the Phillipines thankfully not it that effected area but still equally sad though never the less..`

Yeah tis true,
Or Malaysia, Syria, food banks, Egypt Nigeria & so on.
Many more to take your pick from.
We shouldn’t feel too down when a favourite loses.
It can contort one’s soul & end up making one bitter.
As you say, there are bigger things to be upset about.
#Perspective.

Thanks CDP i have been known for losing my cool on occasion you would notice,and said things i wish i hadnt and wish i could take back,but when its done unfortunatly its too late then,ive had bad luck in my personal life thankfully nothing to that extent,and i was bitter about it but blaming others gets you nowhere,just like i cant feel too bitter about Novak when his only crime was beating my favorite player….

well that’s a nice to do indeed HC.
There’s no real use feeling sorry for Andy rafa Novak etc when they lose a match when many don’t know where the next meal is coming from.
Besides they’re all f***ing multi-millionaires!

Novak will be bouncing a baby soon too! All of his loyal fans will be crushed when his tennis takes second place to fatherhood. This was an interesting statement that Novak made about becoming a father. I wonder if he was serious…..we will see!